Street sweeper side broom drive and support



July 21, 1959 0,1. LINK, JR

STREET SWEEPER 5m: BROOM DRIVE AND SUPPORT 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 8, 1955 Izzyenfar Cl/Aezss 7' Zmq k J'uly 2l, 1959 c. T. LINK, JR 2,895,151

STREET SWEEPER SIDE BROOM DRIVE AND SUPPORT 5 Sheet -Sh t Filed March 8, 1955 S ee 2 78 a2 86 er July 21, 1959 c. 1'. LINK, JR 2,895,151

7 I STREET SWEEPER SIDE BROOM DRIVE AND SUPPORT Filed March 8' 1 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 a ,aIA ZZIII/ WI/ VII a f M w a n4 Q a r w W 4 W M 7- Er M N W I I C M a Y 5 9 m;

MI 9 0 H E ll/ a a 6 %E%%%W% a E41 12 c. T. LINK, JR 2,895,151

5 Sheets-Sheet 4 STREET SWEEPER SIDE BROOM DRIVE AND SUPPORT "July 21, 1959 Filed March 8. 1955 July 21', 1959 c. T. LINK, JR

STREET SWEEPER SIDE BROOM DRIVE AND SUPPORT 5 Shets-Sheeti Filed March 8, 1955 Flllllll I rllnu 6174841515 7: Lnvz, c/e. m

United STREET SWEEPER SIDE BRGOM DRIVE AND SUPPORT Charles T. Link, Jr., Skokie, Iil., assignor to Elgin Sweeper Company, a corporation of Illinois This invention relates to a drive and support arrangement for a side broom of a street sweeper, the side broom being a broom rotatable on a generally vertical axis and arranged to engage in the street gutter and throw dirt and refuse out of the gutter into the path of the main broom of the sweeper. It will, of course, be appreciated that the principles of this invention may be applied to the drive and support of devices similar to street sweeper side brooms and the terms street sweeper and side broom are therefore used in a sense to include equivalent structures.

The side broom is preferably resiliently urged outwardly from the sweeper for pressure engagement with the street curb and is also most preferably adjustable vertically. Heretofore, the side broom has been driven through a complex expensive and troublesome bevel gear or universalcoupling arrangement from a driveshaft coupled to the engine of the sweeper. Vertical adjustment of the broom has been elfected by a hand crank or through a complex linkage arrangement.

In the side broom support and drive arrangement of this invention, the side broom is supported for vertical and rotative movement in a housing pivotally supported from the body of the sweeper for movement about an axis generally parallel to the direction of travel of the sweeper and is resiliently urged outwardly for pressure engagement with the street curb.

According to an important feature of this invention, the broom is driven by a fluid actuated motor mounted directly on the housing, thus eliminating the necessity of special bevel gear or universal coupling arrangements.

According to another important feature of the invention, vertical movement of the side broom is controlled by fluid-actuated means in the housing thus eliminating the necessity for cumbersome hand crank and special linkage arrangements while allowing easy remote control of the vertical adjustment of the broom.

A further feature of the invention is in the construction of the side broom support and drive assembly by which it is very compact, uses a minimum number of parts and is readily assembled while being efiicient, reliable and trouble-freein operation.

An object of this invention, accordingly, is to provide an improved street sweeper side broom drive and support arrangement.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved street sweeper side broom drive arrangement in which the broom is supported from a housing with a fluid-actuated motor mounted directly on the housing for rotating the broom.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved street sweeper side broom support in which the side. broom is mounted for vertical movement in a housing and in which fluid-actuated means are provided in the housing'for controlling the vertical movement of the side broom.

Still another object of this invention is to provide 1 ice an improved street sweeper side broom drive and support assembly which isvery compact and uses a minimum number of parts readily assembled while being eflicient, reliable and trouble-free in operation.

This invention contemplates other and more specific objects, features and advantages which will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a street sweeper utilizing a side broom drive and support arrangment constructed according to the principles of this invention;

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view of the side broom' support and drive assembly looking from line II--II of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan View of the side broom drive and support assembly looking from line III-III of Figure 1; r

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line IV-IV of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a sectional view through the side broom drive and support arrangement taken substantially along line VV of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along line VI-VI of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along line VIIVII of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken substantially along line VIII-VIII of Figure 7; w

t Figure 9 is a sectional view taken substantially along line IX-IX of Figure 8 but with parts separated to illustrate the manner of assembly thereof;

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken substantially along line XX of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 5 but illustrating the assembly with the side broom elevated;

Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of one preferred form of hydraulic circuit; and

Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of another preferred form of hydraulic circuit.

Reference numeral 10 designates a street sweeper which may comprise a body 11 supported by wheels including front wheels 12. A side broom generally designated by reference numeral 13 is supported from the side of the body 11 and is arranged torotate about a generally vertical axis; This side broom 13 is arranged to engage in the street gutter and throw dirt and refuse out of the gutter into the path of the main broom of the sweeper (not shown). This invention is concerned with the support and drive of the side broom 13.

The support for the side broom 13 may comprise a housing 14 pivotally supported from the body 11 for movement about an axis generally parallel to the direction of movement of the sweeper 10. For this purpose, a support member 15 is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the inwardly facing side of the housing 14 and has an integral arm portion 16 extending between integral lugs'17 and 18 on a fixed plate 19 with a pin 20 extending through the lugs 17 and 18 and the arm portion 16. The plate 20 may be secured by bolts 21 and 22 to the side of the street sweeper body 11. v

The side broom 13 is preferably resiliently urged out wardly from the sweeper for pressure engagement with the street curb. For this purpose, a bracket 23 has a vertical leg 2 4 secured against the fixed plate 19 by the bolts 21 and an outwardly projecting horizontal leg 25 withia bolt 26 extending through the leg 25 and through a stop lug 27 secured; to the support 15 and with a coiled compression spring 28 disposed between the leg 25 and the stop lug 27; With this arrangement, the side broom 13 may'move inwardly with the housing 14 being pivoted clockwise as viewed in Figure 2 or counter-clockwise as "2 viewed in Figure 5 against the force of the compression spring 28.

It may be noted that to secure the lug 27 to the support member 15, the lug 27 may have an integral externally threaded shank portion 22 extending through a wall portion of the member with a nut 30 screwed onto the shank portion 29 to secure the lug 27 to the support member 15'. i The bolt 26 may have an integral head portion 31 be low the leg 25 of the'bracket 23 and a shank portion 32 onto which a nut 33 is threaded above the lug 27 By rotating the nut 33, the normal angular position of the housing 14 about the axis of the pin 20 may be adjusted. The broom 13 may preferably comprise bristles 34 carried by an annulus 35 detachably secured to the underside of a circular plate '36 by bolts 37.. To support the plate 36 from the housing 14, the central portion of the plate 36 may be secured by bolts 38 to aiblock 39 welded or otherwise suitably secured to the lower end of a sleeve 40. I

The sleeve 40 may extend upwardly into a vertical bore 41 in the housing 14 to be journalled thereby for both rotative and vertical movement; -Preferably,'the sleeve 40 at its upper end may carry piston means generally designated by reference numeral 42 which may be formed as an enlarged diameter upper end portion of the sleeve 40 either as an integral part thereof or,as is illustrated, the piston means 42 may comprise a tubular portion 43 with an integral inwardly projecting annular flange portion 44 seated on the upper end of the sleeve 40 and welded or otherwise rigidly secured thereto.

Bushing means may preferablybe provided at the lower end of the bore 41 for sealing engagement with the outer surface of the sleeve 40. Such bushing means may be formed as an integral part of the housing 14 but is preferably defined by a separate generally tubular member 45 within the lower end of the bore 41 around the sleeve 40 and having an outwardly projecting annular flange 46 at its lower end secured against the lower end of the housing 14 by screws 47. A conventional O-ring sealing gasket 48 may be disposed in an internal annular recess in the member 45 for engagement with the outer surface of the sleeve 40.

Pressurized fluid, preferably liquid, may be introduced into the space between the bushing member 45 and the piston means 42 through an opening 49 in the inwardly facing wall of the housing 14, the 'opennig 49 being preferably internally threaded to receive a suitable flexible hose connector 50 as illustrated in Figure 11. The pres- 'surized fluid will, of course, tend to increase the volume of the space between the bushing 45 and the piston means 42 and'will thereby urge the piston means 42 upwardly to carry the broom 13 upwardly therewith.

It will be appreciated that with this arrangement, the vertical position of the side broom 13 may be readily controlled from a remote location and, in addition, a constant pressure engagement with the street surface may be obtained as will be described hereinafter in connection with hydraulic circuit arrangements.

The internal surfaces of the bore 41 and the bushing 45 and the external surfaces of the piston member 43 and the sleeve 40 are preferably cylindrical so that the sleeve 40' is journalled for rotation about a generally vertical axis in the housing 14. Hence, no separate bearing means supporting the side broom 13 for rotation is necessary.

; To rotate the side broom 13, a shaft 51 is provided having an upper end portion 52 journalled for rotation abouta generally vertical axis in the housing 14 and having a lower end portion 53 extending downwardly within the sleeve 40. The 'support'and drive of the shaft 51 forms an important feature of the invention and will be described in detail hereinafter.

A spline connection is provided between the lower end portion 53 of the shaft 51"and the sleeve 49, a spline connection being defined as any connection locking the shaft 4 51 and sleeve 40 against relative rotation while permitting relative axial movement thereof.

To provide the spline connection, the lower end portion 53 of the shaft 51 may have a non-circular crosssection with the sleeve 46 having means defining an opening of complementary shape receiving the lower end portion 53. Preferably, and in accordance with a specific feature of the invention, the lower end portion 53 may have oppositely facing parallel plane surfaces 54 and 55 and may, most preferably have a generally square crosssection. The sleeve 40 may carry a block 56 journalling a pair of rollers 57 and 58 in engagement with the surfaces 54 and 55 respectively. With this arrangement, the shaft 51 and sleeve 40 are locked against relative rotation and yet free vertical movement of the sleeve 40 is permitted.

It may be noted that the sleeve 40 together with the side broom 13 carried thereby are lowered only by their own weight and it is not necessary to provide means forcing the side broom 13 and sleeve 40 downwardly. The use of the anti-friction rollers 57 and 58 makes this feature possible without necessitating undue weight of the side broom 13 and sleeve 40. The use of the anti-friction rollers 57 and 58 also minimizes the axial thrust on the shaft 51 and permits support thereof through a relatively simple bearing arrangement as will be described in detail hereinafter.

The block 56, which journals the rollers 57 and 58, may rest against the inwardly projecting annular flange 44 of the piston member 42'and may be secured in position by a clamp member 59 having a somewhat peculiar shape. This clamp member 59'may be roughly described as being formed of a pair of inverted U-shaped portions 66 and 61 in spaced aligned relation with the lower terminal ends of the legs of such inverted U-shaped portions 6! and 61-being connected by'transverse portions 62 and 63. The bight portions of the inverted U-shaped portions 60 and 61 of the member 59 may extend over the ends of the block 56 with the transversely extending portions 62 and 63 being seated on the annular rim 44 on either side of the block 56. The transversely extending portions 62 and 63 may be apertured to receive screws 64 and 65 threaded into the upper end of the sleeve 49. To more effectively receive the screws 64 and 65, the thickness of the wall of the sleeve40 may be increased at its upper end by welding a sleevemember 66 therewithin.

It may be noted that the bight portions of the inverted U-shaped portions 60 and 61 of the clamp member 59 may be of segmental annular shape with the outer surfaces thereof being engaged with the inner surface of the tubular portion 43 of the piston member 42 and with the inner surfaces thereof being in radially outwardly spaced relation to the shaft 51. The purpose of this spacing is to permit reception of a hub portion 67 of a gear 68 within the portions 60 and 61 with the hub portion 67 in engagement with the block 56. This condition is illustrated in Figure 11 which is similar to Figure 5 but illustrates the sleeve 40 at the limit of its upward movement. This specific relation permits maximum movement of the side broom 13 with minimum overall height of the assembly. It may also be noted that with the block 56 and associated rollers 57 and 58, which provide the spline connection with the shaft 51, being located at the upper end of the sleeve 40 and associated piston portion 42, the length of the shaft 51 may be at a minimum while allowing maximum vertical movement of the side broom 13.

The hub portion 67 of the gear 68 may preferably be secured to the upper portion 52 of the shaft 51 through a set screw 69. To drive the shaft 51, the gear 68 may have an integral toothed rim portion 70 displaced upwardly from the hub portion 67 and disposed in a chamber 71 of enlarged cross-sectional area at the upper end of the portion 41, The toothed po'rtion'70 meshes i with a worm 72 which is locked by means of a key 73 to a horizontal shaft 74 journalled by suitable bearing means in the housing 14. The shaft 74 is driven directly by a motor 75 mounted directly on the housing 14 the motor 75 being preferably fluid-actuated and most preferably a hydraulic motor. It will be appreciated that this drive arrangement is very simple, readily constructed and yet is very eflicient and reliable in operation. The necessity for universal couplings, complex bevel gear trains and the like is obviated by the mounting of the motor 75 directly on the housing 14.

To journal the upper end portion 52 of the shaft 51 in the housing 14, the housing1'4 may have a removable top wall structure generally designated by-reference numeral 76 which may carry a downwardly projecting central boss 77 receiving the upper end 52 of the shaft 51. Preferably, the top wall structure 76 comprises a circular plate 78 secured by screws 79 against the upper end of the housing 14 and a member 80 secured under the plate 79 with the boss 77 formed as an integral part of the member 80.

The boss 77 carries lower and upper bearing members 81 and 82 having oppositely inclined frusto-conical bearing races while the upper part 52 of the shaft 51 carries lower and upper bearing members 83 and 84 having oppositely inclined outwardly facing frusto-conical bearing arrangements in opposed complementary relation to the races of members 81 and 82 with rollers 85 confined between the races of members 81 and 83 and with rollers 86 confined between the races of members 82 and 84. The races of bearing members 81 and 83 are so inclined as to resist upward displacement of the bearing member 83-while the races of members 82 and 84 are so inclined as to resist downward displacement of the bearing member 84. To prevent upward displacement of the shaft 51 relative to the bearing member 83, the bearing member 83 may abut the upper face of the gear 68 and to prevent downward displacement of the shaft 51 relative to the bearing member 84, a nut 87 may be threaded on the upper end of the shaft 51.

It will be apparent that with this structure, the shaft 51' is held against vertical movement and yet is freely rotatable through the anti-friction means afforded by the rollers 85 and 86.

It will be noted that with the toothed rim portion 70 of the worm gear 68 displaced upwardly fromthe hub portion 67, the rim portion 70 may be in surrounding relation to the boss 77 and yet displaced upwardly beyond the piston means 42 when the side broom 13 is moved to the limit of its upward travel. Accordingly, the assembly has a minimum overall height and yet permits maximum vertical movement of the side broom 13. It will be further appreciated that by making the assembly as compact as possible, it also has a minimum weight and the amount of material required is at a minimum.

Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of one preferred form of hydraulic circuit for the drive and control of the side broom 13. Referring thereto, a pump 88 is arranged to supply fluid under pressure from a reservoir 89 to a distributing valve 90. The valve 90 may have a connection through conduit 91 to the reservoir 89, and a relief valve 92 may be connected between the outlet side of the pump 88 and the reservoir 89.

By actuation of the distributing valve 90, fluid under pressure may be applied through a conduit 93 to the drive motor 75 and fluid flow from the motor 75 may flow through a check valve 94a and a conduit 94 to a point 95 of the circuit connected through a relief valve 96 to the reservoir 89. The relief valve 96 functions to establish a pressure at the point 95 substantially greater than that required for control of the vertical movement of the side broom 13. This point 95 is coupled through a portion of the conduit 94 and through a conduit 97 to a regulator valve 98 having an outlet coupled through a conduit 99 to the coupling 50 and hence to the chamber within the housing 14. The regulator valve 98 may have another outlet connected through a conduit 100 to a point 101 of the hydraulic circuit connected through a conduit 102 to the distributing valve 90. The point 101 may be connected through a check valve 103 to the point and through a check valve 104 to the conduit 99.

In operation, the pressure head is developed at the point 95 by virtue of the operation of the relief valve 96. This pressure head is applied through the conduit 97 to the regulator valve 98 and the regulator valve 98 frmctions to apply a certain pressure to the piston means 42 to urge the side broom 13 upwardly with a constant pressure. Since the force of gravity acting on the broom 13 is constant, the broom 13 will exert a constant pressure on the street surface.

If an elevation in the street surface is encountered, the pressure within the chamber in the housing 14 will be momentarily lowered which will cause the regulator valve 98 to direct fluid from the pressure head at the point 95 through the conduit 99 to restore the normal pressure condition. If a depression in the street surface is encountered, the pressure regulator valve 98 allows fluid to flow from the chamber within the housing 14- through the conduits and 102 to the distributing valve 90 and thence through the conduit 91 to the reservoir.

The regulator valve 98, may, of course, be adjusted to obtain any desired pressure engagement between the broom and the street surface.

When it is desired to raise the side broom 13, fluid under pressure may be directed by the distributing valve through the conduit 102 and through the check valve 104 to the chamber within the housing 14, the check valve 9411 serving to prevent back flow through the motor '75.

Another preferred hydraulic circuit is illustrated in Figure 13. In this circuit, a pump 105 supplies fluid under pressure from a reservoir 106 to a distributing valve 107 with a conduit 108 from the valve 107 to the reservoir 106 and with a relief valve 109 between the outlet side of the pump 105 and the reservoir 106. The distributing valve 107 supplies fluid under pressure through a conduit 110 to the broom drive motor '75 with the outlet side of the motor 74 being connected through a conduit 111 and through a check valve 112 to a point 113 of the hydraulic circuit. The point 113 is connected through an adjustable regulator valve 114 and a conduit 115 to the distributing valve 107 and thence through the conduit 108 through the reservoir 106. The regulator valve 114 may be adjusted to obtain any desired constant pressure at the point 113. This point is connected through a conduit 116 to the chamber within the housing 14 and hence an adjustable constant pressure urges the piston means 42 upwardly against the force of gravity, which is constant, so that a net force is exerted on the broom 13 which is constant, thereby obtaining a constant pressure between the broom 13 and the street surface.

To elevate the broom 13, fluid under pressure from the pump 105 may be diverted by the distributing valve 107 through the conduit 115 and a check valve 117 into the conduit 116 and thence into the chamber within the housing 14 to exert increased force on the piston means 42 to elevate the broom 13. The check valve 112 prevents flow of fluid through the motor 75 in this operation. To prevent excessive pressure within the chamber in the housing 14, a relief valve 118 is provided between the conduit 116 and the reservoir 106.

It will be noted that the arrangement of Figure 13 is somewhat simpler than that of Figure 12, and requires fewer elements, which is, of course, advantageous. However, the attainment of a constant pressure in the arrangement of Figure 13 is dependent to some extent upon the operation of the motor 75 while in the arrangement of Figure 12, a relatively high pressure head may be maintained at the point 101 to insure an adequate supply of fluid for constant pressure control of the side broom 13 at all times.

It will be appreciated that the side broom support and drive structure of'this invention may be operated in any position and the terms horizontal and vertica and the'like are used only for ease 'of'reference and conciseness andclarity of description and are not to be cons'trued as limitations.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

1 claim as my invention:

1. In a street sweeper or the like, a housing having a generally vertical bore, a sleeve in said bore having an external diameter less than the internal diameter of said bore, piston means at the upper end of said sleeve in sealing engagement with the internal surface of said bore, bushing means at the lower end of said bore in sealing engagement with said sleeve, means for introducing fluid into the space between said piston and bushing means to elevate said sleeve, side broom support means coupled to said sleeve, and means for rotating said side broom support means.

2. In a street sweeper or the like, a housing having a generally vertical bore, a sleeve in said bore having an external diameter less than the internal diameter of said bore, piston means at the upper end of said sleeve in sealing engagement with the internal surface of said bore, bushing means at the lower end of said bore in sealing engagement with said sleeve, means for introducing fluid into the space between said piston and bushing means to elevate said sleeve, side broom support means coupled to said sleeve, a driven shaft extending coaxially from the upper end of said here downwardly within said sleeve, and a spline connection between said sleeve and said shaft.

3. In a street sweeper, a housing, side broom support means journalled in said housing for rotation about a generally vertical axis, a worm gear directly coupled to said side broom support means, a worm meshed with said worm gear and journalled for rotation on a generally horizontal axis in said housing, and a motor mounted on said housing and having a shaft directly coupled to said worm.

4. In a street sweeper or the like, a housing having a vertically extending chamber closed by a top wall, a central boss projecting downwardly from said top wall, a vertical shaft in said chamber having an upper end portion journalled in said boss, side broom support means coupled to said shaft, a gear including a hub portion secured to said shaft below said boss and an integral toothed rim portion displaced upwardly from said hub portion in surrounding relation to said boss, and drive means meshed with said toothedrim of said gear.

5 In a street sweeper or the like, a housing having a generally vertical bore, a sleeve journalled for rotation and vertical movement in said bore, side broom support means at the lower end of said sleeve, a shaft extending coaxially from the upper end of said bore downwardly Within said sleeve, a gear including a toothed rim portion and an integral hub portion secured to said shaft at the upper end of said bore and displaced downwardly from said rim portion, and a spline connection between said sleeve and said shaft displaced downwardly from the upper end of said sleeve with the upper end of said sleeve being in surrounding relation to the hub portion when said sleeve is moved to the limit of its upward travel.

6. In a street sweeper, a rotatable broom, a fluid motor mechanically coupled to said broom for rotating the same,

fluid-actuated means mechanically coupled to said broom to control raising and lowering thereof, a pump having an inlet and an outlet, a reservoir coupled to said inlet, a pressure-regulator valve connected to said fluid-actuated means and to said reservoir, and fluid connections connecting said motor between said pressure-regulator valve and said pump outlet whereby the fluid flows through said motor and then through said valve with said motor serving to drop the pressure'down to a value of the same order of magnitude as the maximum pressure required to be applied to said fluid-actuated means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,27 8,306 Cushman et al. Mar. 31, 1942 2,300,280 Teager Oct. 27, 1942 2,327,879 Farrar Aug. 24, 1943 2,347,875 Bratz May 2, 1944 2,418,840 Karweit Apr. 15, 1947 2,530,720 Paulson Nov. 21, 1950 2,558,623 Mott June 26, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 695,207 Great Britain Aug. 5, 1953 1,007,574 France Feb. 6, 1952 

